Seeing in Red
by hrhgoldentrio3
Summary: Eren, Mikasa, and Armin are closer than friends, especially when protecting each other's secrets. Like Eren's tendency to murder, for example. Levi, Erwin, Hanji, and the rest of the Special Operation Team are led on a wild game to find a serial murderer who is closer than they would like to think. Modern world AU, where Eren's desire to see red helps political and social struggle.
1. Chapter 1

This is a new fanfiction that I'm starting! For most of my old followers, you're probably wondering why I'm starting a new one when I said I would finish the Darker Half or UnLeash Me, Master.

And you're right. I have no clue what I'm doing, but I need to get this idea out of my head because it's just driving me crazy. You know where you have that one idea when you're toying around with different concepts, and it suddenly strikes you that this is the one? That's this idea right here. I'm experimenting with deeper plots currently. And holy crap, it took me 14 pages on Word and almost 6 hours, but I finished this chapter. But this just sticks out to me because I've suddenly become interested in modern AU for Shingeki no Kyojin, as well as the coffee shop AUs and murder mystery AU's. I'm debating if I should make Levi and Eren stay friends, similar to L and Kira in Death Note, or have Eren become his lover. Please let me know in the reviews.

Sure, you can curse me and hate me all you like because I'm a terrible author and don't follow my promises, but I'm having a difficult time picking up the Darker Half and UnLeash Me, Master, again.

This murder mystery can take as long as I like, depending on how soon I want Eren to give up the game. Please review, since this new style can use a few pointers. If I've messed up any times, it's probably because military time requires more thinking for me.

* * *

Thursday, August 27th

Shiganshina, 19:02

Apartment 11a

He could feel it sliding down his fingers, dripping down from his fingertips. It was still warm, gushing out from the source. He could hear the rope creaking, even though his prey had long stopped moving.

"Such a shame that I can't paint a pretty picture for you. I'd have to use a giant canvas for all this blood I've spilled," Eren spoke softly, admiring the crimson on his fingers.

There was so much red, and it was a nice contrast to the pale body swinging in front of him. The metal bucket underneath was almost full, and Eren was tempted to dip his whole arm into it so he could press his palm against the wall. He would like to leave pretty palm prints on the wall to replace the peeling floral print, or a bloody ocean with an even bloodier sunset. But even though he would love to drown in red, he sighed because he knew he'd have to clean it up afterwards.

He stood up slowly, his knees slightly sore for kneeling so long. He had stayed by his prey for a full hour, watching the life-force drain slowly from the cut on the throat. It was a painful death, he was sure, but it was well deserved.

If anyone asked him for his favorite color, Eren would reply red. Red for love, red for Mikasa's scarf, red for blood. Blood had always fascinated him since he was a child. He could recall always pressing down on his cuts, just to watch droplets of blood seep out. He could recall pushing down other children on accident, just to watch their knees bleed and then scab over. He could recall blood seeping through wrinkled white button-up shirts while he held a slippery knife in his hand, just to protect Mikasa from her kidnappers.

Eren was always interested in blood. There was something beautiful about how life was dependent on blood. How everyone had a weakness, how everyone strong or weak always bled red. Rich people, poor people, arrogant people, or kind people, they all were weak and died from bleeding red. Blood was always regenerated by the body, but Eren could always take it away from the body. Draining blood was a slow death, but was by far his favorite. It was always a messy affair and took too long, but the amount of satisfaction gained was more than shooting someone with a handgun.

Eren washed his hands a final time, wiping them clean with a paper towel. He reached underneath the sink cabinet, pulling out his favorite bottle of bleach labeled "FOR CLEANING". He splashed some in the bathtub, after he had removed the metal bucket and placed it by the door. Running the shower, he washed down the last traces of blood. Although he loved spilling blood, washing it away was just as mesmerizing. Water and blood created amazing patterns together, as they swirled and created shapes.

Slightly panting, he dragged the garbage bag of evidence down the stairs to his car. He would drive to his dumping spot to burn away all the evidence. He would watch the ash floating in the air, closing his eyes as if he could feel his actions dirty the air.

His phone beeped, and he opened it quickly as if he had expected it all night. Technically he had, and he gave a small grin as he heard the voice on the other end.

"It's all done. Now we just have to wait for tomorrow and then the game will begin."

* * *

Friday, August 28th

Mitras, 6:38

Survey Corps Head Office

"Heichou, I think you're going to want to read this report," Petra said, with an undertone of concern.

Pinching his nose, Levi tried to breathe softly and relax before replying, "I swear this better not be another politician house break-in or something shitty like that. We got called before our normal time at 8 and the coffee tastes like shit."

"It was probably Hanji that made the coffee this morning, since she was here the earliest, sir," Petra replied, trying to smile back.

"Great, now I don't even know if this is coffee. What's in the report?" Levi said, putting down the cup harshly and scowling at it.

"It's another murder in Trost, Levi," Erwin said, appearing in the doorway.

"Fucking Christ, don't appear out of nowhere and take up the whole doorway," Levi growled, a little ticked off at how tall his partner was. "So it's connected to the string of murders that's been occurring for the past year? And if it is, what the hell is the Trost local police doing if a serial killer can get away with 7 murders?"

"We're unsure if there is a connection between those murders and this one, but the Military Police has asked us to look into this case personally because the murder was of someone of interest to the capital," Erwin replied, taking a seat and pushing the file towards Levi.

Levi skimmed through the contents, nodding along with what Erwin was explaining. "So it's one of those crazy Wallist religious leaders, and he probably was providing some sort of bribe or funding to a politician in Mitras. What was he doing in Trost?"

Petra added in, "He was on a religious campaign, trying to fundraise there for a large Wallist church to be built in Shiganshina."

"Since Shiganshina is one of the poorer districts, I bet he was thinking it was a charity case. I assume this case is highly confidential?" Levi mused.

Erwin nodded. "The Military Police wants to keep this case quiet. If anything, they want this to be played off as a serial murder case instead of an illegal political funding case."

Levi groaned, knowing cases like these took more than a couple weeks. "Do I have permission from Nile to bring my special team to work on this instead of just us two? I feel like the Trost police are incompetent and having just us two would be asking for me to kill someone."

Chuckling, Erwin nodded. "We leave today. Hanji is packing up her special equipment already since Trost labs aren't up to standards, and Gunther and Eld are going to meet us there for briefing instead of stopping by here."

Levi gave a curt nod, and gathered up the report while Petra and Erwin left the break room. He organized the files on his desk, and took the files of the other seven murders in Trost with his personal notes. The Special Operation Team typically dealt with intel gathering and investigations, while the Military Police dealt with the public, political cases. Levi thought it was strange that the Military Police handed the case over to them, unless they were busy with some useless nobleman's case. Even so, his team usually dealt with problems within Mitras because they were the highest ranking.

Whatever the fuck this was, this was going to take overtime, gallons of Hanji's shit tasting coffee, and sleepless nights.

* * *

Thursday, August 28th

Trost, 13:07

Church of Lady Rose

"They probably kept the body out, even though its summer. The heat isn't that bad even in summer and wouldn't affect the body anyway. I wonder what the serial killer did this time to it!" Hanji exclaimed, hands crudely demonstrating exactly what she thought the killer did.

"We lost too much time just traveling here. Going from the capital to Trost is a 4-5 hour trip. Doesn't help that the Sina border control was slower than the Military Police running and the Rose tunnel is always under repairs," Levi scowled.

Petra grabbed most of the files from the police car, and the team entered the Church of Lady Rose. This was one of the oldest Churches in Trost, named after humanity's largest construction feat that separated the districts. Levi eyed the crumbling walls in distaste. If the Wallists had enough time and money to build churches in poorer districts, then surely they had enough dough to fix the damn older churches in richer districts.

"Investigators Levi and Erwin, welcome. We seem to have gathered enough data in the time it took for you to get here-"a local Trost police officer said, before being cut off.

"It's Special Agent. I would ask for your name, but someone on your rank doesn't need one. Skip the welcoming and annoyance over the uncontrollable traffic and construction that delayed us and debrief us," Levi said curtly.

The Trost police officer nodded, a little wary of Levi. "We got a call around 6:00 by a priest who came to open up the Church. At first he thought it was a break in, since one of the stained glass windows was smashed. He went inside and discovered the body up by the altar."

The Church of Lady Rose was fairly large, easily able to accommodate 500 people, or up to 700 if the upstairs balcony was used. Levi glanced past all the engraved pews to the altar, where a large cross was propped up behind a bible on the altar. A slightly overweight white male with brown hair was on his knees, head bowed down. The Wallist's hands were tied with rope around the vertical part of the cross and was the only thing supporting him.

"Religious symbolism? Is this a possible religious motive?" Petra asked.

"Doesn't make sense, since the serial killer has never had any religious elements in his previous murders," Oluo said, puffing out his chest slightly.

"Estimated time of death and cause?" Erwin questioned the Trost police officer, who nodded back and replied, "We're still waiting for a medical analyst to arrive for time, but cause was definitely a slit throat. But the funny thing is-"

"You still haven't had a medical examiner come? In the 7 hours since the murder was called in?" Levi asked incredulously. The Trost police officer stuttered slightly, trying to reply.

"I can examine him," Hanji offered, raising her hand a little too enthusiastically. Levi nodded, and she walked over, pulling on her latex gloves. The Special Operation Team followed, everyone looking around for tiny clues or anything out of place.

"Hmm…definitely from a slit throat. The cuts a little too big for a butterfly knife or pocket knife, so that eliminates a mugging. I'd go with kitchen knife, since it's not deep enough for anything crazy like a machete. Can you imagine if it was a machete? Serial killers with mach-"Hanji looked around, and got the cues that she needed to keep her crazy medical obsessions to herself. "The only thing bothering me is that it's too clean. For a serial killer, there's a surprising lack of blood."

Levi was surprised that he didn't notice it earlier, but Hanji was right. The slit throat had no blood around the wound, and there were no splatter marks anywhere.

"This raises the possibility that the murder was not actually performed in here. Or the serial killer is a neat freak like Levi," Erwin mused, ignoring Levi's hardened glare.

The Trost police officer continued to tell more details to his partner Erwin and the rest of the team, but Levi ignored him in favor of examining the Church. He walked up to the altar, snapping his latex gloves on.

The inside of the Church was a cheery off-cream color, and Levi was looking for spots of red. He examined the body a little further, noting the expensive suit but worn shoes. He would ask Hanji to analyze the soil on them later. He patted the suit's pockets, but there was nothing. The serial killer wasn't dumb enough to leave such naïve mistakes.

He stepped back, looking at the overall picture. Somehow the bible caught his eye, since it was open to a picture page. Most bibles don't have pictures in it, but this was probably a sacred or older bible. The scene depicted Lady Rose and Lady Maria together, speaking to a crowd of apostles.

"Was this bible open to this page the last time someone saw it?" Levi called out to the Trost police officer, who scrambled over to him to answer.

"We have the priest here for some questioning, but we haven't asked him that. I'll call him over," he offered.

Levi nodded, and added, "We need to get fingerprints on the cross, the altar, the bible, and the smashed window."

Levi absent-mindedly skimmed through the words on the opposite side of the picture in the bible. It was a story that accompanied the depiction. Erwin approached Levi and asked, "I'm sure the killer wouldn't leave prints on anything, but it's worth a try. Maybe the killer left a message somewhere, since most serial killers love to dangle some clues but withhold others."

A priest entered the Church from the back door with the Trost officer, seemingly upset. Levi was almost worried that he would spout off religious nonsense about justice and God's judgment.

"Did you know this…Frederick Bilder?" Levi questioned.

"Y-yes, we were supposed to meet last night to discuss the fundraising for the church in Shiganshina. He came from Church of the Lady Sina so was higher in rank than me, so I was surprised that he approached Church of the Lady Rose for fundraising. He wanted to create a donation box or program here and wanted to do a guest sermon," the priest answered back. "M-my name is Arthur Fournier and I only came here at around 6:00."

"So you're in charge of opening the Church? What about locking up as well? What did you do after Bilder didn't show up last night?" Levi asked, motioning to Petra so she could start taking notes.

"I open the Church around 6:00 each morning and close it around 10:00 at night. When Bilder didn't show up here at 4:00, I called him multiple times but he never replied. I just stayed here, thinking he'd show up late, but I eventually just went home after I closed up," Arthur replied.

Erwin asked, "Was there anyone else present in the Church last night or this morning?"

Arthur shook his head, but then paused. "Usually it's just me in the morning, but during the nights there's around 1-2 other priests with me. I'm the only one that stays until 10:00. We have custodians that come here around 8:00 at night."

Erwin told Oluo and Petra to check the names of the other people mentioned, and to ask for their alibis. Levi then asked Arthur about the state of the Church.

"So it's possible to enter the Church just by smashing the windows? What type of force would be needed for that to happen," Levi asked.

"These sacred stained glass windows around very old, made when this church was created over a hundred years ago. We've never reinforced them to obstruct their beauty, and no one would dare vandalize the sacred glass of Lady Ro-"

"Then it's very easy to break in, if you are arrogant to think people in Trost are trustworthy. Maybe it wasn't someone religious or from respectable Trost, since they didn't seem to appreciate their beauty," Levi said. Arthur flushed a little, but continued.

"That stained glass was one of the less attractive windows depicting Lady Maria actually. This church has many stained glass windows, but Lady Maria usually isn't featured as much since this church is for Lady Rose. Probably anything like a crowbar or bat could be used."

"What about the altar? Is there anything that seems touched?"

Arthur took a moment to examine it, a little perturbed. "Each week we have sermons on a different book of the bible. This past week was on Saint Paul, which was towards the middle of the bible. But this page is on the book of Lady Maria. It wasn't like this last night when I was dusting around the altar."

"Is there anything different with the room? Like any pews moved or any candlesticks gone?" Erwin added in.

"I put away the candlesticks each night and the silver platters as well. The pews seem fine, although the one in the middle seems a little off-centered. It could have just been the custodians accidentally shifting it while cleaning," Arthur said.

Oluo walked over to the pews, since he was the farthest from the altar. He ran his latex gloves lightly, looking for any indentations or gashes. "Nothing out of ordinary, although I'm not familiar with pews- wait! It looks like someone carved something over the engraving here."

Levi followed Arthur, who looked very upset that someone had desecrated his church further. "We have engraved benches for people who give generous donations to fund missions. This pew was dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. Rosenthal, very generous donors. And look! This looks like someone took a pocket knife and just carved over and over it."

Levi noticed their names, and wondered why the prominent Jewish merchant family was involved with a Wallist church.

"We'll get some analysis on this for fingerprints, knife prints, the like," Petra said, trying to assure the upset priest.

Levi and Erwin's cells started beeping, meaning it was a police update. They checked their phones, where there was a message from Gunther and Eld.

Erwin said first, "Gunther and Eld have been getting settled in the Trost police headquarters in the inner city here, so they didn't check this place out. But they've gotten most files transferred there and are talking to the higher ups there. We're to meet them at 15:00."

"We're going to have to call up people from this church later on in the investigation, so Petra go get contact information. Hanji can deal with the body at the headquarter lab, so let's go meet up now," Levi said, already starting to walk out of the church.

This case was taking an interesting turn. There were so many leads on this case already, and many clues, albeit deliberate. Levi didn't think that the symbolism and emphasis on Lady Maria or the pew was just something coincidental.

And he was looking forward to figuring it out.

* * *

Friday, August 28th

Shiganshina, 13:09

Apartment 11a

"Are you headed out to work, Eren?" Mikasa called, her voice ringing from downstairs.

"Yeah, I gotta get there by 2:00 for my shift. Armin's still out, right?" Eren replied, rushing down the stairs while adjusting his shirt.

Mikasa stopped him at the bottom of the staircase, adjusting his collar. "Armin stopped home in the morning after last night's affiar, but he headed back out to his internship at the Trost hospital. He'll be home for dinner. I'm going to cook something before I leave for my karate class tonight."

Eren suddenly looked at Mikasa straight in the eye, pleading. "Please tell me there's gas?"

Mikasa gave a small laugh. "You work and drive like I do, so it's your responsibility to fill up too. You can do it at Trost."

Eren gave a small pout. "We could at least arrange our carpool better, it'd make my hobby easier to handle. Even with this crappy apartment, it's tough to have two cars. Armin took the Corolla this morning right? Will you be fine taking the bus to teach your class?"

Mikasa nodded, smiling at Eren. "Your hobby will never be easy to handle. But your hobby involves Armin and me too, so it's okay. I'll leave around 3:00 and I'll be back at 8:00 for dinner."

Eren said goodbye to Mikasa, grabbing his bag with his book, phone, keys, and work apron. He nearly tripped over the crumbling brick stairs trying to get to the beat up Civic, cursing at the crappy apartment and neighborhood they lived in.

Shiganshina was one of the poorer districts, and was where Eren, Mikasa, and Armin grew up. Mikasa was adopted into the family by Carla and Grisha, Eren's parents. Even though Mikasa had some distant relatives, she felt more at home in the Yeager home since her parents died. But then tragedy struck and Carla and Grisha passed away as well. Mikasa and Eren stayed together since then, afraid to let go of one another. Armin joined them later, since he was a close childhood friend. They were all close enough to be siblings.

Grisha was a somewhat successful doctor, but declined work in Trost in favor of working in Shiganshina. Eren didn't follow the path of a doctor, but still won a scholarship to Trost University for his dream career of a social worker. Armin instead pursued the medical field, since Grisha had always inspired him. Armin currently was interning at Trost Hospital, while also on a scholarship to Trost. Mikasa on the other hand earned a scholarship to Trost through her martial arts achievements. She was on the Trost University karate team, and taught karate classes on the side in Shiganshina.

Many people were amazed to hear that this trio all earned scholarships to the esteemed Trost University, coming from a rather sub-par local high school. Although it wasn't the same as the prestigious universities past Wall Sina, Trost University was a huge step away from Shiganshina. But the trio earned their dreams through hard work, studying, and determination. They were determined to leave Shiganshina for good. They could never deny that they had fond memories of Shiganshina together, but the poor district also brought bad memories as well.

The city of Trost wasn't exactly their dream city to move to, since the injustice in the system there made Eren angry, but it was a little better than their home currently. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin were sophomores in college, at 20 years old.

Eren mindlessly wove through traffic out of Shiganshina, passing through the Maria tunnel. It seems like the Maria tunnel was always under repairs, he mused, looking at the construction. He arrived at the Titan Café just at 2:00.

"Of course stupid Eren is late," Jean mocked, already behind the counter putting more pastries onto the display trays.

"Shutup, horse face," Eren replied, good-naturedly, tying his apron. Even though Jean and he bickered like children most of the time, Eren still was close friends with him. Although, it was probably a good thing that they didn't attend the same high school together. Then they would have killed each other by freshman year. Or at least Eren would have.

"Someone's in a somewhat good mood. Excited for classes to start?" Jean asked. He also attended Trost University, but for business. He grew up in Trost, in a higher-class family, much to Eren's envy. He could never quite figure out why Jean was working here, unless Jean's parents thought work would improve his horse-sized ego. Classes started mid-September, only a few weeks away.

"Sure, sure. I hope Annie made some extra cookies, hers are amazing," Eren said, smiling. Annie was pretty stone-hearted, but she baked like a pro.

Jean and Eren worked as cashiers at the Titan Café on shifts of 2-8, so they could have morning classes. Annie, Ymir, and Krista were the bakers in the back, although they usually were there for the morning. Reiner delivered the ingredients a couple times a week. The Titan Café was a medium sized coffee shop. It wasn't a major chain brand, but still had the homeliness of a small town coffee shop. They had many regulars, and attracted many university students, since it was only about 3 streets away from Trost University.

Eren was glad to have found work close to the university and in Trost. Work in Shiganshina was usually sketchy or low-paying. But in Titan Café, he had nice co-workers that he could "consider" his friends. Only Mikasa and Armin could be regarded as his true friends, since they shared the same ambitions, and understood his actions and thoughts.

Business was slow today, Eren thought, while he and Jean munched on a cookie from the discard pile. The café was small enough for only two cashiers to be needed, but usually only Eren ran cashier. Jean might have had an attractive face for a horse, but wasn't as open and friendly as Eren. Jean called him a people person, but Eren just laughed it off because he just knew how to manipulate and act around people. Jean usually just handled the coffee and pastry orders.

About an hour and a half passed and Eren was debating whether or not to wipe up some tables because he was bored. The bell over the door jingled, and Eren glanced up, a "Welcome to Titan Café!" already on his lips.

Two men in black suits and white collared shirts walked in, looking casually around. The height difference between the two was almost comical. The taller one was blond, and had an open and friendly face. The other man, who was definitely shorter than Eren, had a scowling face and an undercut. They both looked like they were in their 30's, and they dressed professionally. Eren looked outside, noticed the police car, and smiled more than he should have to just welcome customers.

"I can't believe Hanji wanted to stop by just because she wanted pastries. I swear to God that woman can make a saint go nuts," the shorter man said.

The blond man walked over to Eren, ordering 7 house coffees and donuts to go with it. "It'll be better than the coffee at the police headquarters, Levi."

So the shorter man had an interesting name. "Oh, excuse me," Eren said, putting on a tiny blush for show, "Are you two policemen? I mean, I just noticed the car outside and it's not from around here."

The blond man nodded. "We're from the capital, we're here for work."

Eren smiled, handing him a receipt. "Many of the policemen here are our regulars. Enjoy your stay in Trost then, and come by here anytime you have work!"

The blond smiled back, thanking him.

Eren busied himself with pouring out the coffees, since Jean was busy in the back getting another cardboard drink tray.

The police car was definitely from Mitras, making it suspicious that such high ranking investigators were in Trost. The blond ordered 7 coffees, meaning a team was probably brought over for Eren's murder.

Everything was going fine with the timeline. The body was probably discovered this morning, and a drive from the capital was around 4-5 hours, so these two must have examined the crime scene already. Getting coffee meant a meeting session with the team, and Eren wondered if the special task force was going to stay in Trost for the whole case, since long drives would be a waste of both time and gas.

Eren felt himself get a little too giddy, so he started humming as he finished pouring the coffees. Such intelligent officers in Trost meant Eren had to be careful.

Or that he needed to up his game.

"7 medium coffees and 7 Danish rolls for Erwin!" he called out, smiling at the blond. Eren watched Levi take a sip and nod as he enjoyed the brew. Eren gave a wave as they left, and watched the police car take a right for the police station.

"Weird that there's out of town policemen here. At least we get a lot of business from the police from this convenient location," Jean said, pushing Eren out of his thinking phase.

"Maybe there's a special case or something coming up. I guess we'll find out on the news tonight, huh," Eren sighed, stretching his hands out to disguise his impatience. He couldn't wait.

* * *

Friday, August 28th

Trost, 15:37

Police Headquarters

"Now that introductions are over, we can start off with some briefing," Marc, the Police Commissioner, said.

"It would be easier if the Special Operation Team were to work from within Trost. We can make arrangements for the team to stay here on weekdays and go back to Mitras on weekends. Will your team be able to handle it?" Amelia, the Deputy Commissioner, directed towards Erwin.

Although Erwin and Levi were Special Agent partners together, Erwin had seniority and had always been the leader of their team. "None of us have our own families, so I think we can manage. This is a rather high profile case, so it'd be better to get it over with sooner."

Amelia agreed. "The Trost Inn can accommodate you 7. It's a nice hotel, although it won't have standards like the capital. Next, while the Military Police gave your team control over the case, don't forget that Trost is still our district. Anything you do should also be brought up to us and approved as well."

Diplomatically, Erwin agreed, and proceeded through working out the finer parts in terms of work area and load.

Levi fought the urge to childishly roll his eyes. Personally, he didn't think the Trost police would be helpful in the case at all, and that his team should just use the facilities and work from here instead. And what he didn't want especially was for the Military Police and the Survey Corps to butt heads.

He continued to sip his coffee and snack on his roll, enjoying the freshness of it. The coffee shop named after weird giants wasn't that bad. It was cleaner than this dump at least, and Levi knew he would have to clean up both the team workplace here as well as his hotel suite.

"Now to get to the leads. We'll discuss the previous 7 murders of this year," Marc said, before directing the conversation to Inspector Anton.

"Trost experienced 7 murders this past year, starting from February. Each murder was approximately 3 weeks apart from the next, and the killing style was the same each time. A knife was always used, and the main cause of death was a cut to the throat, although the body was usually beaten as well. This is most likely the work of a serial killer, although there were no obvious links between the victims. Most of the victims had a criminal past record, and all were born and raised in Trost," Anton explained, as a powerpoint with some details on the past murders flashed on the screen.

"We're unsure about the connections between last night's murder and the other 7, but the Military Police insist on a thorough investigation for any links that would indicate that another murder will occur. We have some suspects for each individual murder, but their alibis indicate that not one of them could have done all 7 murders. The suspects will most likely be acquitted based on the lack of sufficient evidence we obtained, but the Special Operation Team can still investigate them further." The suspects' faces along with some information were also on the powerpoint.

"We have provided your team files on the past murders, but now we want to discuss last night's murder. Erwin, your team may take the floor now."

Erwin stood up, and passed out another file. "This is all the information we have gathered just by looking at the crime scene. Gunther and Eld have looked up further information from the police archives."

Gunther cleared his throat, and started. "Frederick Bilder was the head pastor of the Wallist Church of Lady Sina in Mitras. He left August 27th to visit Trost in order to discuss fundraising with Arthur Fournier, a priest of the Church of the Lady Rose, for the building of a church in Shiganshina. The building of the church was a highly publicized event and generated attention because of the prominence of the Church of Lady Sina. He was to meet Fournier last night at 16:00, but failed to arrive."

Eld continued. "We gathered information on the other priests and the custodians present last night and this morning, and their alibis check out. So we must assume that the body was placed intentionally in the church."

Hanji raised her hand, although it wasn't really necessary. She would have blurted out information anyways. "We did some early body examinations within the past 2 hours, and discovered something interesting. Bilder's body was drained of blood."

Murmurs rose and everyone contemplated what that meant. Inspector Anton asked, "This is a different murder style than the other murders in the past. Were there any prints that could be analyzed?"

Hanji leaned back and sighed. "Unfortunately, our killer's too smart for that. No prints anywhere on the crime scene as well. I'm running some tests on the victim's clothes, but results won't be found until tonight."

Levi spoke. "In regards to any leads or clues, there seems to be a religious connection as well as a possible target. A stained glass window of Lady Maria was smashed in order to enter the Church. While that may not matter, it seems to have been deliberate. That window was not the most accessible if the killer was hauling around a dead body, since there are rocks and shrubbery outside, unless the killer had accomplices. However, Fournier mentioned that the bible on the altar had been touched. The page was flipped to a depiction of Lady Maria and Lady Rose giving a sermon to a group of apostles. These apostles later wrote the book of Lady Sina and began the Wallist movement."

"It's a far-fetched religious connection, but it's the best we got. These clues are both centered on Lady Maria. Also, a pew in the church was damaged sometime last night. This pew was dedicated to the Rosenthals, who donated money to this church. Their engraved names on the pew were scratched out by a knife. They could be possible targets for the next murder," Erwin explained further.

Petra asked timidly, "What I'm wondering is why the blood was drained. Do you the think the serial killer would use the blood in another murder?"

Inspector Anton nodded, "Blood being drained is unusual, but for sick serial killers like these, they could either use it to mess up with the evidence at the next murder, or they just like to keep prizes from their prey."

"The Trost police force can get into contact with the Rosenthals, and ask them if they've noticed any suspicious activities. We have no other cases on hand except these 8 murders, so we can spare some officers to watch over them," Marc said.

Everyone was dismissed, and the Special Operation Team left the police headquarters. Since it was the weekend, they were to go back to Mitras, report, pack up, and then come back to continue the investigations.

Levi eyed the Titan Café as Erwin's police car drove past, noticing the young boy with the bright green eyes inside. He remembered the name, Eren. It rolled off his tongue.

Suddenly Levi remembered. "The Rosenthals are a prominent Jewish merchant family. At Mitras we've received some reports on them for smuggling. I'm curious as to why they would donate to a Wallist church, unless they think that shit could resolve their sins."

Erwin agreed. "This whole case could be part of something bigger. The religious ties are suspicious, and the fact that the Military Police are concerned just concerns me."

Despite the coffee, Levi felt himself wanting to take a nap. This case was going to a lot more tiring than he thought, especially if he couldn't stay at his 99% germ free clean house. Maybe he'd have to survive off coffee for a while, from that café.

* * *

Friday, August 28th

Shiganshina, 21:14

Apartment 11a

"I'm home!" Eren called out as he opened the door, locking it quickly. He made sure all the windows were barred shut before he entered the kitchen. "We're eating some stew," Mikasa replied, before serving him a plate. Armin was also present, looking a little tired from his hospital internship.

"How was work," Armin asked, before Eren could shovel in a heaping spoonful of Mikasa's delicious cooking.

"Same old, same old. But two out of town policemen from Mitras came by. I could tell that a special investigative team arrived at the police headquarters in town," Eren replied.

"Eren…" Mikasa said, putting down her fork, worried.

Eren waved his spoon, shrugging. "We're too smart to be caught. Afterall, we have Armin here, he's the brain, I'm the strength, and you're the protector. How was the internship, Armin? You better not gush over how you got to stick needles in people or stitch people up."

Armin shook his head, chuckling a little. "I'm just an intern; I'm practically like a messenger. I get the coffee, carry papers, and try to follow doctors around. But you do hear interesting things in the emergency or hospital rooms. Even doctors and nurses gossip too."

"What type of gossip," Mikasa said quietly, starting to put the dishes away.

"The serial killer in Trost. The news report at 6 talked about the new murder as well," Armin said, looking at Eren.

Eren just smiled, chugging down the rest of his drink. "Are you guys prepared for the rest of the game?"

Mikasa put the dishes in the sink with a clang. "Eren, this isn't really a game. You could get caught, exec-"

Eren stood up. "I know Mikasa. I know. But now both of you are involved, so we'll all get caught. But we won't get caught. Not when I'm having too much fun. Not when we're helping people like us from Shiganshina."

Eren used to think that he was selfish for involving his best friends, no, his brother and sister into this mess. But everything that the trio did, it was for better or worse. They were too emotionally involved in each other, in their childhoods, to separate from each other.

They understood him. While they didn't understand his lust for red, they understood that with each murder, they were a step closer to providing justice.

Shiganshina was more than their hometown. It was the place that broke their innocence and started Eren on his bloody spiral into murder. It was the place that made Mikasa become cold to everyone but Eren and Armin. It was the place that convinced Armin to save the pitiful like him because everyone else had died and was unworthy.

This time, it wasn't red that slid town his fingers. It was water, dripping from his eyes as he hugged his childhood friends and siblings. They cried together that night, because they knew that there was no hope for humanity in the corrupt world they discovered, and no hope for their own humanity either. They cried for the loss of family members, the loss of children, and the loss of innocence.

Eren cried for the last time in his life, because he knew that he couldn't afford to have or show emotions like that anymore.

He cried because his desire for red scared him at times, and didn't know what to do other than let it consume him instead.


	2. Chapter 2

AN:

I cut chapter 2 short in favor of a quicker update, but the plot should pick up from here on out. The song at the bottom is Fly on the Wall, by Thousand Foot Krutch. I've been obsessing over this song for a while, ever since I've connected it to SnK. This song sparked my interest in starting up this fanfic.

* * *

_10 years ago_

_Shiganshina_

_Streets by the red light district_

"_We have to hurry!"_

_Mikasa's legs felt like iron, but she panted out a yes as Eren held her hand and led her through the streets. _

_At 10 years old she never knew she would have to run for her life, trusting someone around her own age. _

"_Let's hide here, Mikasa!"_

_Eren pulled her into an alleyway next to a motel with a half lit, neon sign advertising cheap rooms. _

"_We'll be s-safe here, I think. We just need to keep quiet for a while."_

_Mikasa closed her eyes, focusing on Eren's frantic breathing. She wasn't sure if she could trust someone that she meet only that day…but Eren's bright green eyes displayed such honesty that she almost believed they would be safe hiding there. _

_When was the last time that she remembered being safe? Mikasa couldn't remember any other times she felt safe in her childhood because of the constant fear of bombing and gunfire, except for when her parents had actually paid attention to her instead of their own fears about the war. _

"_Sorry, your scarf got all dirty from when I-"_

"_It's okay," Mikasa replied quietly, tightening her hand around the fringes of the scarf. "You saved my life."_

_Eren's bright green eyes held her own, reassuring her. When she closed her eyes to calm her breathing, she didn't realize that Eren's eyes slid to her previously white scarf, now spotted with red dots of blood. Mesmerized, he looked at the dots that had spread like spider webs across the once white scarf. He wished he could just dip the whole thing in red so he wouldn't have to see the dirty white anymore._

* * *

Saturday, August 29th

Shiganshina, 6:03

Apartment 11a

Mikasa's bleary eyes opened as she adjusted to the brightening darkness in the room. She patted the area right next to her, sighing as she felt that the mattress was cool to her touch. Eren and Armin must have gone back to their own room, she mused.

After last night's emotional crying episode, Eren and Armin had crawled into her bed. The situation was similar to back when Mikasa was a child, recently adopted into the Yeager household. She had a hard time adjusting to a new family, and her memories had continued to haunt her through her nightmares. Eren, always kind and sympathetic, used to crawl into her bed to hold her hand as she explained her nightmares to him. Later, when Eren's parents died, they moved in with Armin and his grandfather and Armin had joined Eren and Mikasa in bed.

Now it was different. Armin and Eren now both had their emotional problems, and Mikasa felt like she had switched sides. She was now the protector to calm them down, since her emotional side had hardened and cooled down from the trauma she experienced.

She rolled onto her back, placing her hand over her eyes. She could never classify the dream from last night as a nightmare or a good dream. On one hand, she and Eren were running for their lives from Mikasa's kidnappers, but on the other hand, Mikasa had learned to trust Eren. Either way, the dream, or memory, just emphasized the cruelty of the world.

What more did they have to do to live in their perfect world? Haven't the three of them lost so much compared to others? Mikasa knew it was useless to aspire to be equal to the other happy and oblivious people that she saw every day. Even if they were all beggars or all kings and queens, Mikasa knew it wouldn't be right. Their dark pasts would always overshadow the present.

A knock sounded on the door, and Eren called out, "Mikasa, I've made some breakfast already before we meet up to discuss."

Mikasa let out a sound of acknowledgment, and began to dress. When she had finished, she exited her tiny room to join Eren and Armin in the dining room.

The apartment they shared was so small, that the dining room and kitchen were practically the same area. Their home was located some distance away from the red light district and Shiganshina outskirts where poverty was widespread, but close enough to remind them of the injustice of the districts. Armin and Eren shared a room together, while Mikasa had the smallest bedroom that could have been mistaken for a large closet. There was only one constantly damp bathroom that they shared, and it was unfortunate that Eren enjoyed his hobbies there as well.

Mikasa sat down, and began to pick at the plate that Armin gave her. Mikasa usually ate larger portions, due to her athletic body, but today she felt less hungry than usual. Today was an important day that began the game that they had planned for almost 5 years.

"Armin watched all of the news reports about the recent murder. He also contacted Bertholdt to make sure he was ready for his part," Eren said, finishing his egg.

"Eren's going to Titan Café to get some information from Jean, just as planned. Hopefully the Titan's information is accurate and the drop won't change because of the police. If not, we have to activate the other plan and skip to the next step," Armin continued.

Mikasa put down her fork and gazed at her plate. "Armin, you're absolutely sure that this plan will work? We also have many background plans in place, but there are still so many unknown variables…"

"Mikasa," Eren said, grabbing her chin so she could look at him directly. "If you're worried about us, you need to stop. You can't just worry about us anymore. You're our protector, but you're more than that. You have to protect others like us as well from having what happened to us become their reality."

Already used to Eren's straightforwardness and passion, Mikasa just nodded.

How far were they going to go? To what end will their game reach until they are satisfied? Would the dream and reckless plan they had thought of when they were naïve 15 years old, discontent with the world, be fulfilled?

Glancing at the table, Mikasa watched Eren's eyes as he animatedly spoke to Armin about the plan, while Armin wrote notes on a paper to continue planning. Eren's eyes always shone with passion when talking about his dream and Armin was in his best mood when calculating.

Mikasa wished she could preserve the present that they lived in, where Eren's eyes would no longer dull with emotional distress or where Armin's hands would no longer shake. But she knew the only way to save moments like these around the kitchen table was to take action, dirty their hands, and become more than young adults they appeared to be.

* * *

Saturday, August 29th

Trost, 10:24

Titan Café

Eren usually worked from 2-8 on weekdays, but on weekends he worked in the mornings from 8-2 since weekends were usually busier.

"Hey Jean, what are you going to do this weekend?" Eren casually said, while wiping down the coffee counters.

Jean paused while cleaning the coffee machine. "Well not much, if you want to hang out. I was going to go to some fancy rich kid's party tonight but they canceled."

Eren laughed. "Maybe they just didn't want you coming, Jean. Whose party was it?"

"Abe Rosenthal's back to college party. Man, those are legendary. I mean, usually his parents are there to supervise so that means no booze, but they cater fancy food and the girls there are gorgeous," Jean grudgingly stated, seemingly upset. Eren almost wanted to laugh at him.

"Geez Jean, don't think that I was going to want to hang with you. I'm just as busy as you, Mr. Popular."

"Eren, I don't count hanging out with Armin and Mikasa since it's like hanging out with your siblings. But uh…um…if you want we could all hang out and grab a coffee or something….I dunno," Jean said, his tone dropping as he stared down, attempting to focus on the coffee machine.

Jean's blush totally gave it away, Eren thought. Jean had a crush on Mikasa ever since he first saw her, claiming that her lustrous hair and graceful walk (away from him) made her a lady worth noticing. Jean was easy to manipulate when it came to Mikasa, but also because he wore his emotions right on his sleeve.

"Sure, depends if Mikasa is busy. She's thinking of having another karate class to teach, and Armin's been away a lot with his internship. But seriously, we work in a coffee shop and you suggest having a coffee?" Eren mocked.

As Jean retorted, Eren ignored him and began to clear off some tables. Abel Rosenthal, known as "Abe" because it sounded cooler, was the Rosenthal's heir to the family "business". A year older than Jean and Eren, he was an established partier and popular kid at Trost University. Unlike Jean who didn't care to flaunt his family name, Abe used his wealth as a Rosenthal to get away with even some of his misdemeanors and bullying incidents. He was snobby to those from Shiganshina, Eren included. Jean may not have liked Abe, but it would do no good to ignore the Rosenthal family.

Jean was Eren's link to the Trost upper class. Originally, Eren had planned to go with Jean using Mikasa as motivation to the Rosenthal party, but he quickly realized that Abe would probably kick him out upon seeing him. The canceled party was just as convenient, since the police were now involved with the Rosenthals.

The bells tinkled, and Eren was surprised-actually, not surprised, since he expected it- to see the policeman Levi walk in. He wore his usual scowl, but it wasn't unfriendly. His face just seemed to have naturally set that way, probably from too many years of seeing death, murders, and tragedy.

Since Eren was cleaning the tables, Jean had to answer the cashier. "W-welcome to Titan Café, um… can I take your order?"

Eren saw Jean's eyes pleading at him, and Eren chuckled since Jean never knew how to handle pressure from intimidating personas. He often wondered why Jean majored in business if he couldn't handle intimidating people. Eren walked behind the counter to replace Jean after Levi ordered, so Jean could make the order and so Eren could make small talk as a good, friendly cashier would.

"Nice to see you again! Guess we convinced you out of towners to come here more often, or it was just a convenient location," Eren said, while handing Levi his receipt.

"The coffee here was…satisfactory," Levi stated. Eren almost narrowed his eyes at him, but he knew how to control his face. Levi wasn't much of a talker, making his task harder. He just needed to find the right topic to engage Levi in conversation.

Eren got the tongs to pick out the pastries that Levi picked out, bumping into Jean on purpose.

"Watch it, horse-face. Just because you're upset that your weekend is ruined doesn't mean you have to take it out on me," Eren smirked, knowing that Jean would be annoyed.

"You need to watch out too, stupid! And a canceled Rosenthal party doesn't mean a ruined weekend," Jean mumbled, but it was loud enough for Levi's experienced eyes to pick up.

"The Rosenthals," Levi murmured as Eren gave him a bag of pastries. Eren nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep, they're this rich family that this loser here knows. The son goes to Trost University with us and throws parties at his mansion, but tonight's one was canceled for no reason, which is pretty unusual," Eren said, putting some emphasis on the unusual part. "Anyways, so are you guys here for that murder case? It's the talk of the town."

Levi gave a small grunt. "It's confidential, brat, but you could probably guess why we're here. Thanks for the food."

Levi walked away with his coffees and pastries. He had ordered 7, the same number that Erwin had ordered the day before. A seven person team was an unusual number, except it matched the description that he had gotten for the Special Operation Team. One medical examiner, a pair of Special Agent partners, and the rest were their subordinates.

Jean was a little tense with Eren for the rest of their shift, but Eren shrugged it off. Jean was always a little moody, and Eren didn't really care much to begin with. He had accomplished his goal of planting the seed of curiosity into Levi's mind about the Rosenthals, more than what the clues in the church would provide.

The Special Operation Team had a good track record, almost always solving their cases, and Eren hoped that they would be fine with the amount of clues he had left them.

* * *

Saturday, August 29th

Trost, 11:02

Special Operation Team Room in Police Headquarters

Levi entered the room that his team was given, plopping the pastries on to Hanji's enthusiastic lap. "Here you go, you overgrown brat. Have you finished your lab report?"

Hanji nodded, already biting into a pastry. "Absolutely no fingerprints on the body, meaning the killer's smart. But about the attire Bilder was wearing-"

"It was the shoes, right?" Levi interrupted, slapping Hanji's hand away from the second pastry she was about to grab.

Hanji didn't even bother to act surprised, knowing that Levi was intelligent when it came to picking up clues. "Yeah, the shoes were very worn in comparison to the suit. In fact, they didn't fit the victim's profile at all. They were two sizes too large."

"Bilder wasn't very tall, but his feet were of average size. So we're looking for someone with big feet now?" Levi asked. Hanji shook her head.

"I was thinking it's probably some teenager with large feet. The brand is a trendy hot couture store that's popular among teens or college students. Once we noticed the anomaly of the footwear, I ordered another examination to be sure besides the soil test. We got some fingerprints, and are going through the system now to find a match."

"Try the Rosenthals," Levi suggested. Hanji raised an eyebrow at that, but hurried away to her lab to do his request.

"The Trost police gathered some evidence from the church and have finally handed it over to us," Erwin said, already sitting in the large table. He produced several bagged items such as glass shards, the bible, and pictures of the pew. Levi handed him a coffee and sat next to him, moving around several items.

"Did you check out the hotel rooms when you checked in our luggage there?" Levi asked, scowling as he thought about the dirt and dust. Erwin chuckled. "It's not as clean or fancy as your apartment, but it'll do. The bathroom's pretty spacious and they have lots of amenities."

"Wait," Levi suddenly said, pointing a finger towards the bible. "You're saying no one's noticed this?"

Erwin looked closer at the bible, and saw the light, penciled circle around the page numbers. "It's the number 105, but only 1 and 0 are circled. 10?"

Levi scrutinized it further. "I'm pretty sure no priest would allow random pencil marks on a sacred text. Countdowns usually start with 10, right?"

Erwin raised an eyebrow. "I hope it's not a countdown, but there are a lot of things that 10 could imply too. Also, Gunther got the pictures of the pew carvings and got someone to create computer images of it, and then eliminated the original engravings. He got a cryptographer only to discover it was a message in Ancient Greek."

Erwin opened a file, where there were pictures of the pew carving, a 3d computer image, and then random letters that Levi assumed were Ancient Greek. "What's the meaning?"

απληστία

"It means greed, which is a rather interesting choice of words. We're going to discuss this in the group meeting with Trost."

Levi scowled. "Can't we just discuss it among ourselves? We could figure it out pretty easily without their help."

Erwin shook his head. "We're under the obligation to tell the Trost police force everything we've discovered, so when we told them, they demanded a group meeting."

"Seems like they just want to have some of the credit," Levi stated bluntly.

* * *

Saturday, August 29th

Trost, 11:30

Main Meeting Room, Police Headquarters

Marc the Police Commissioner was away dealing with the publicity over the new case, so Deputy Commissioner Amelia took over the meeting.

"The Special Operation Team ran additional tests on the body and the items on it, and they examined the evidence that we gathered for them last night and this morning. Erwin, you may speak your conclusions," Amelia said, directing the attention to Erwin.

"Thank you, Amelia," Erwin said amicably, but Levi just twitched at the overly diplomatic undertones in both Amelia and Erwin. "Hanji, our medical examiner and main lab chemist, ran some tests for Bilder's shoes after we discovered fingerprints." Erwin looked toward Hanji.

Hanji grinned. "We got a match to Abel Rosenthal."

That was all she said before chatter broke out, as everyone was surprised at the turn of events.

Inspector Anton raised the question first. "So you're saying that the family that we thought was a target is a suspect instead?"

Hanji nodded. "His prints were in the police system since he's already had some misdemeanors and one jail stay before he got bailed by his family."

"Did anyone contact the Rosenthals yet about their target status?" Levi asked.

There was silence before the Trost investigators sitting around the meeting table muttered nos.

Levi almost wanted to smack them at their incompetence. "Usually subordinates would be punished for not completing their tasks, but you brats are lucky this time. Now they don't know that the police are connecting them to this case."

Erwin asked Amelia, "Do you have authority to tail them or investigate them for suspicious activity?"

"They've already had some reports for them supposedly smuggling, so it was only a matter of time before they got investigated. We can organize a surveillance team to watch over their activities."

Levi wasn't completely sure how much information he needed to tell the Trost police force, but he decided to anyways just so his team could hear.

"I've heard a rumor that Abe Rosenthal was supposed to host a college party at the Rosenthal mansion tonight from two college students. However, this party was cancelled at the last minute," Levi added in.

Inspector Anton looked surprised, but then said, "Abe Rosenthal always throws parties, and we've always had multiple complaints from neighbors. We've also had drunk driving incidents, but they only occurred when Abe had thrown parties that weren't sanctioned by his parents. When Abe hosts parties with his parents, it's usually like an upper class dinner party."

"Either way, this means Abe Rosenthal was planning at staying at his house, but something came up. We can track where he's going instead tonight," Amelia said.

"Also, we have more information regarding the evidence you provided us," Erwin said. "The bible was opened to a specific page when the serial killer was in the church. Page 105. We noticed that the number 10 was circled from 105 in pencil."

"Also, we examined the markings on the pew. The scratches weren't random, but were instead Ancient Greek. We had a cryptographer translate and the meaning of the symbols was greed," Gunther said.

"Is the serial killer implying his motive for the crime?" Inspector Anton asked.

"Probably. We may have to investigate into the private affairs of Frederick Bilder for possible embezzlement or illegal funding. I find it interesting that Bilder would try to fundraise at the Church of Lady Rose instead of Lady Sina," Gunther replied.

"Nobody uses Ancient Greek anymore. Isn't that an older language of the territories before Kios was formed?" Petra commented.

"That's true, but we don't have enough evidence to tie it to Kios," Oluo said.

"Back to the bible. I researched the story about Lady Maria and Lady Rose that the bible was open to. While I don't exactly get the religious significance, the overall message is about the forgiveness of betrayers," Levi stated, gaining the attention of the table.

"Forgiving traitors? This is exactly why I don't understand religion," Oluo pointed out.

"Lady Maria and Lady Rose were traveling through towns where they came across a group of worshippers who wished to become their disciples to spread the word of God. Lady Maria and Lady Rose were pleased and told them more about God's miracles and religious shit to make people join churches and missions. The worshippers became disciples later on, but one of the disciples betrayed her later. The disciple told a band of thieves where the two Ladies were staying during their visit in town, and they were robbed. The Ladies were heartbroken or something and prayed to God thinking that he'd answer their prayers," Levi took a break, tired of spouting off what seemed to be religious nonsense even though it was relevant to the case.

"God spoke like a damn psychic and told them to forgive the shady disciple. The Ladies approached the disciple and spoke to him kindly and the disciple starting sobbing shit about how he's been blackmailed and coerced by that band of thieves before and wanted to help himself."

"So it's a story about forgiving people because of their unfortunate circumstances," Inspector Anton said.

"That seems true, but I fail to see where that ties into the case now. Unless the serial killer is trying to tell us to forgive him for killing because of his past or to forgive Bilder for whatever greed he has?" Oluo said, confused about a serial killer asking for forgiveness.

Levi had thought about it last night, after researching the story, about the connections between the case and the story. He couldn't find any clear connections besides what Oluo had mentioned, but it still seemed far-fetched. There were so many clues that stood out, but none of them tied them to the actual identity of the killer, but rather to clues to investigate other people.

The meeting finished off with information regarding the tracking of Abe Rosenthal, so which Levi and Erwin agreed to be on the surveillance team. The Trost police force was reluctant about them joining, saying that they were unfamiliar with the area, but Levi just glared at them and said they were better qualified and had more experience than any sorry team they would make out of desk job police workers.

The surveillance team was going to stake out at the Rosenthal mansion for the rest of day, so Levi and Erwin left to gather equipment that they had brought over from Mitras and to finish up their reports. A covert minivan was to be used under the guise of pool maintenance van, seeing as all the mansions in the same neighborhood as the Rosenthals all had their own pools.

"I don't even have time to unpack and clean my room," Levi cursed.

* * *

Saturday, August 29th

Shiganshina, 15:12

Apartment 11a

"You have your watch set to the exact increments, right?" Armin asked, packing his supplies for the night.

"Yep, and I told Bertholdt to track the shipment through street cameras tonight instead of through the cell phone, just in case the police can pick up any traces when they apprehend Abe," Eren replied, zipping up his backpack, the paint canister clinking against other objects.

"Eren, it's too noisy," Mikasa said, before adjusting the objects so that something softer was cushioning the paint. "I'm going to karate class soon like usual, but I really wish that I could help you take out-"

"Yeah, I know you want to be directly involved with tonight because I'm confronting the Rosenthals, but we need you to keep up appearances so when the police come tomorrow it won't seem suspicious," Eren replied, putting his hand on Mikasa's to calm her down.

Mikasa sighed, unhappy that she couldn't directly protect Eren when he could be in physical danger. At least Armin would be working behind the scenes, somewhat. She flipped her hand to grasp Eren's.

"Promise me, if the plan goes wrong or if we've underestimated the police or the Rosenthals, you'll get out of the situation. Both of you," Mikasa said sternly, although her voice still had concern and affection.

Armin was the one that replied, also placing his hand with the others. "We promise."

"Don't forget what we promised when we started," Eren said, squeezing her hand, try to make her happier. "So there's no way we would break the promise you just asked of us."

It didn't exactly reassure her, but Mikasa remembered the unspoken promise that they created when they first found themselves alone in their world.

They would either all make it through with the plan, or they would all die trying.

Together.

* * *

_The other night_

_I had a dream_

_There was a world full of kings and queens_

_But it was cold_

_Dark as the night_

_We were the fire on the moonlit skies_


End file.
